They had a rupture this week of the 4' main flooding the streets in Louisville . Wow ! The cast iron main was installed in 1893 . Check out the wooden house crane setting the pipe ....... From what I can tell it looks like it rolled along on a rail system on wood cribbing . http://www.whas11.com/news/history/historic-pictures-show-oak-street-pipe-125-years-ago/499265176
What are the odds anything built now will be around over a 100 years later without any major issues? Not very good I'd say.... of course the exceptions would be anything build by a HEF member
When I worked at the utility here we'd occasionally run into an old wood stave water main even in the late 90's. Amazing what good condition they were in. Pull the stick out of the hole that's full of water " awww, sh... " then wait for the laborers to cut that rats nest off so you can start digging again, then the mud pump screens plugging up with all the wood bits. Lots & lots of really old CI, lead goosenecks, riveted steel transmission lines. I wonder how many people can still pour a lead joint or caulk a joint leak with lead wool, hammer, & irons? Nothing says you are on the bottom of the seniority ladder like laying in a muddy hole pounding away on the bottom of a big pipe joint.
After 125 years of service they sure got the moneys worth out of it . From what I understand this was it's first major rupture . Found another article on it . http://www.louisvillewater.com/newsroom/story-behind-historic-water-main Started the 6 mile long project in 1891 & completed in 1893 .
I think I was reading somewhere a conservative water utility will have its pipes on an 80 year replacement schedule. Those that would rather use their funds on social justice are on something like a 300 year schedule, but waiting until it breaks is not usually cheaper.
Good point . I cant imagine digging through a large old city trying to figure out what water / sewer line is still active or out of service along with all the artifacts exposed from yesteryear .
I'm afraid a lot of the particle board houses will still be around 100 years from now, not real smart. At least when most of the wooden housing stock was built previously the country was young and growing fast. It makes much less sense now to build disposable houses on more or less permanent infrastructure, not worth the concrete IMHO, but finish is what sells, glazed finish on an earthenware vessel/lipstick on a pig. I'm sure the plastic plumbing underground will be around, only wonder if they'll curse us for not sticking with tried and true lead instead of poisoning generations with plastic?
We do the same with the excavator hydro plumbing . Replace every 80 years or when in it fails . Machine is 40 years old so we are in mid term .
I've always wondered what the big scare will be when I'm old and grey. Probably crap I've never heard of at this point. Growing up I'd hear about DDT on the farm, lead, asbestos etc. Hell the state of California should have a sticker on it! The state of California is known by the state of California to cause cancer and other brain defects
How many of you remember the big ice age that was coming? In the early '70s, we all knew global cooling was gonna be bad by now!
And the world was gonna be out of oil, thank goodness Carter came along and told it like it was, "let's build more coal power plants, and put a sweater on you wimps"
It's a global cooling thing .. Hits us every year in December . Cut some firewood today to warm up
I want to know how they belled the pipe up. Wonder what kind of gaskets they used to keep the pipe together under pressure on that timber bridge? Doesn't appear to have any mechanical restraints.
Oakum and lead wool!! Bell and spigot ductile iron rib on one end, bell with a groove the other, drive the oakum and lead in water hits the oakum and it swells, self sealing!
Thanks DMiller , I had the same question as CM . So far this is the best close up picture I could find of the rupture .
That a railroad iron on top of the right pipe?
DMiller that's enough to keep the pipe belled up under pressure without being in a trench? That's a big pipe with a lot of pressure.
More volume than pressure. At the nuke our cooling tower blowdown line was a 36" bell and spigot fiberglass pipe, rubber slip joints and had around four miles 300' drop water capacity, discharge was not full open. Only leak we had was a 1" tap air release/vacuum breaker parted in a manhole, shot the iron lid 45 feet straight up.
I would say they've lost positive pressure while the pipe is being repaired . They will have some serious chlorination to do and a bunch of sampling as well. I do all the digging for main repairs for my municipality, and we have to maintain positive preasure until the pipe is out of the water.
The old ductile iron pipe did not present much surface area to push against, 30-40# on the lip of the spigot which was maybe 1/4" to 1/2" wide? only presents 75" total surface area, with water at system pressure of 30-40# typical only 3000+/- pounds force on the joint with 94 gallons per foot length of pipe x 8#/gallon, would be trying to shift 6000-7500# laterally not including the weight of the pipe, another two ton?. Could shift, maybe, but I would be certain the old engineers knew these formula. Once the oakum and lead were in place you cannot hardly drag the two pipes apart with equipment.
I'm guessing this is a fairly low pressure / high volume main . Reports were it was shooting out of the street 6 to 8 foot in the air .